The Mississippi Board of Nursing has announced the election of Dr.  Lacey Gentry, DNP, RN, CNE, as Treasurer.  

Dr. Gentry is a proud native of the MS Delta and is currently a resident of Courtland in Panola  County. She is a graduate of the BSN and MSN programs at Mississippi University for Women  and the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Administration and Education Program at Samford  University. At Samford, she was honored with the Arlene Nash Hayne Excellence in Nursing  Administration Endowed Award. 

“I am passionate about increasing student and faculty retention in our state’s nursing education  programs,” Gentry said. “This will ensure that Mississippi continues to develop exceedingly  competent nurses who compassionately minister to the needs of their patients for generations  to come.” 

Dr. Gentry has been a nurse educator and administrator since 2000 and is currently a Professor  and the Regional Hybrid Clinical Director at William Carey University. She previously served  as the Director of the Accelerated BSN Program at UMMC School of Nursing-Oxford Campus  and the Director of Associate Degree Nursing Instruction at Northwest Mississippi College.  Additional service for Dr. Gentry includes working as a home health nurse in North Mississippi  and a family nurse practitioner at Ear, Nose, and Throat Consultants of North Mississippi. She  serves as an Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) site visitor, was selected  as a Bower Leadership Fellow in 2021, and completed the Mississippi Nurses Foundation Nurse  Leadership Institute in 2023. 

“We are very fortunate to have tremendous leaders like Dr. Lacey Gentry serving the MS Board  of Nursing and the nursing professionals across MS,” said Dr. Phyllis Johnson, MBN Executive  Director. “The success of our organization stems from our leadership and the talent they bring to the Board. We are grateful for their willingness to commit their time and capabilities to our  efforts.”  

The MS Board of Nursing is established to be a consumer protection agency with authority to  regulate the practice of nursing through licensure as provided for by the MS State Code. Dr.  Gentry was appointed to the Mississippi Board of Nursing by Governor Tate Reeves in 2021 and  reappointed in 2024.